Worth
by RaevanDawn
Summary: Strange nightmares plague Umi at night, which causes her low self confidence to fall even further. There is more at stake than Umi realizes. Clemi. !Chapter Three Up!
1. Chapter 1

Well, hello everyone! This is Reaven, and I finally got around to writing a Magic Knight Rayearth story!

**Chapter One- Nightmare**

-Dreamscape-

_There was blood on her hands, his blood. The man lay slumped at her feet, looking up at her with hazy eyes. He was dying._

_"Umi..." he whispered softly. _

_"No! Don't leave me here, alone! Don't leave me... don't leave me... please... don't die..." She cried out, hot tears streaming down her face. Who was this man? He was so familiar to her... She knelt down next to him. _

_"Who are you?" She whispered. Gods, he looked so familiar. Where did she know him from? Who was he! _

_"Umi...why didn't you come? Why...Umi...why? Why did you let me die?" He clenched his teeth in pain; he stared up at her with sad eyes, a single tear making its way down his cheek._

_"What?" She gasped, "I didn't..." His body slowly evaporated in a shimmer of sparks and Umi leapt back with a hysterical sob. She was very close to this man... whoever he might be. She knew that from the way her heart ached when he looked at her with those sad eyes... She couldn't have let him die!_

_"Umi..." Umi whirled around to come face to face with Hikaru. Her red-haired friend stood some distance away from her._

_"Umi..." Hikaru murmured once again, staring sadly at her feet. There was blood all over her face. "Why didn't you come, Umi? Why did you let us die, Umi? Umi!" Hikaru sank to her knees and coughed up blood. "Umi...save us!"_

_"Hikaru!" Umi screamed, but Hikaru slumped to the side; her sightless eyes stared up at the inky blackness. Her body slowly drifted away, disappearing from sight._

_"Save us...save us...save us..." Shrieked the voices of all her friends. Hikaru, Fuu, Presea, Caldina, Clef, Ascot, Lantis, Ferio... The voices beat at her head and Umi screamed and staggered away, sobbing._

_"I'm coming! I'm trying! I'm trying!"_

**"What makes you think you can save them? What can -you- do? You're just some spoiled little -brat-."** _A voice hissed._

_"No! I'm not...I'm a Magic Knight!" Umi whimpered._

**"You're not -worthy- to be a Magic Knight! You are just a foolish weakling! You are -nothing-!"**_The voice laughed. The voice was not distinguishably male or female, and Umi found herself referring to it unconsciously as 'it'._

_"No! I'm not! I'm not!" Umi screamed, and whirled around and stumbled desperately away from the voice that was saying those..._lies!

**"Are they, Umi? Are they lies?" **_It whispered. Umi jerked backwards._

_"Shut up! They are! They're LIES!"_

**"You feel the truth of it, Umi. You believe me somewhere deep inside of you..."**

-End Dreamscape-

Clef jerked up in his bed, gasping. Terror...he felt terror. But it was not -his- terror. He slipped out of his bed while he reached out, palm outstretched, and his staff flew to his hand. _Who has a close enough connection with me to make me feel their emotions?_ Drawing his magic to him, he concentrated on the source of the fear. _Umi..._ Clef's head twitched up and a short gasp left his throat. _The Magic Knight of Water is that close to me? I never realized that before... she'sthat close?...Stop. Think about that later. First, find out what's wrong with Umi... _Clef murmured something under his breath and he faded from his room and reappeared in Umi's quarters.

Umi thrashed furiously on her bed, the sheets thrown on the floor.

"No! No, I'm NOT! All LIES!" She shrieked, her fists slamming against the wall. "I'm not!" She slumped back down onto the bed, whimpering. One arm flopped out away from her body and Clef could see crimson blood trickling down from her palm. _Oh gods, she's bleeding! What kind of nightmare?... _He strode over to the bed and grabbed her shoulders and shook her, hard.

"Wake up, Umi!" He said urgently. Her eyelids flickered a bit.

"I'm not..." She murmured again, only half awake.

"Shh..." He said soothingly, "It was just a dream...just a dream, Umi." Her eyes opened fully and she stared blearily at him.

"W...what happened?" She said softly, staring at him.

"You were having a nightmare, Umi. You hurt yourself." He held up her hand, showing her the blood. "I could feel your fear through spells I had placed on the room." He lied. She stared at her hand for a second, then clenched it and burst into tears. He placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and quietly stood there until her sobs subsided.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He said softly. Talking would usually help get over the nightmare. She shook her head mutely. _Very well._ "Do you want me to get a potion? I have one that will keep away dreams." After a hesitation, she nodded. He flicked his fingers, and a cup appeared in his hand. He offered it to Umi, and she took it. A slight frown on her face, she rubbed the rim absently, her eyes downcast. He stared at her, concerned.

Suddenly snapping out of it, she smiled reassuringly at him, but he was not fooled. She tipped her head back and downed the entire potion in a single gulp. She reached over and pulled the sheets onto the bed and lay gently back onto her pillow. She snuggled into the sheets, closed her eyes, turned away from him, and let the potion take over her system.

Clef pursed his lips in worry. There was definitely something wrong with Umi. She was never that quiet and submissive. The only words she had spoken to him were 'What happened?'. If she was her normal self, she would have whacked him on the head with a mallet, called him 'a perverted old man', screamed at him a few minutes, and ordered him out (then apologized the next morning). He found now that he much preferred the other Umi, this one just troubled him.

Also, the potion had taken over too fast. The stronger one's heart was, the more time it would take for the potion to work, and Umi had one of the strongest hearts he knew. She was, after all, a Magic Knight. That potion had taken over far too fast. _What was that nightmare about, Umi? What did it do to you?_

After watching Umi for a few more minutes, he transported back to his room, deep in thought.

-Next Morning-

Umi's eyes flickered open and she yawned. She reached up and slowly rubbed her eyes, feeling the dried tears from the night before. She gasped. _That dream!_ She let out a shuddering breath. _Hikaru had been dead... and that man...(who was he?)...and that voice...it said... _She gasped and clapped her hands over her ears. _STOP IT! Stop thinking about it! It was NOT TRUE! It was a DREAM!_ She banged her fist against her forhead and gave a shuddering sigh.

_And then...Clef was here. He woke me up from that dream...and gave me that potion... _She let out a soft breath and a smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Clef could be such a sweetie-pie when he wasn't popping you over the head with his staff for disturbing his peace and quiet...or insulting his height. A real smile came this time. The Guru was incredible fun to tease, especially about his height.

Her spirits suddenly raised, she swung her feet over the side of the bed and stood up. She walked over to the closet and after a moment of indecision, she decided on a sky blue tank top-ish shirt with jeans. She stripped out of her sleep clothes and donned the ones that she had chosen a minute ago.

She stepped lightly over to the bathroom that was connected to her sleeping quarters, and over to the sink. This sink resembled the old fashioned sinks that Umi had seen in old houses. She rather liked it. It was ornately carved with pink and blue swirls, and it had a deep basin and an ivory colored faucet. She stuck her hands under the faucet and the water automatically flowed out. Umi grinned. Things like that were so easy to use in Cephiro, because it was a land controlled by will. Therefore, if she willed the faucet to spout water, it would! She splashed some cool water on her face, than grabbed a light blue towel that was hanging on a rack, and dried her face off.

She checked herself in the mirror and decided that she looked fine. _I'm to lazy to put on any make-up at the moment..._ She walked out of the bathroom, out of her bedroom, and into the hallway.

"Umi!" A happy voice exclaimed from down the hallway. She turned to see Hikaru bounding down the hallway toward her. Hikaru skid to the stop in front of her. "Hey, sleepyhead! You're finally up! You slept until one o'clock!" Umi looked startled.

"I did?" Hikaru nodded, grinning. _I guess Clef's sleeping potion worked a bit -too- well._ She shrugged. "Sorry!" Hikaru grabbed Umi's arm and dragged her toward the breakfast hall.

-Breakfast Hall-

The doors to the hall flew open as Hikaru burst in with Umi in tow. Clef gave a silent sigh of relief. Umi looked a lot better this morning, a lot more like herself. _Maybe I'm overreacting. It was just a nightmare._

"Umi-chan! You're awake!" Fuu said happily. Umi laughed and shrugged a shoulder.

"I had trouble sleeping..." She said lightly. _Well, that's an understatement..._Clef thought to himself. He nibbled on a piece of bread as he watched Hikaru drag Umi over to where Fuu, Presea, and Caldina sat, clustered around a table.

The five of them soon got into a spirited discussion about something or another. As he watched, Umi sat back as Hikaru got particularly excited about something she was saying. After a couple of minutes, no one seemed to really notice that she had stopped participating. She bit her lip and looked down. Clef frowned. There was that look in her eyes again, the one that he had seen last night. _It's kind of a lost...lonely look._ Her lips pressed slightly together and her shoulders hunched a little bit over.

"Is there anything wrong, Guru Clef?" Lantis asked him, as he came up quietly behind the Guru. Clef gave him a quick smile.

"No. It's nothing." Lantis frowned at him.

"Don't listen to him, Lantis." Ferio joined the two, grinning. "The world could be coming to an end and he would say that, just so we wouldn't worry!" Clef mock glared at him and whacked him gently on the head with his staff.

"No, this time it is the truth. I really have no reason to think that there is something amiss...just my instincts." He sighed. "But I will tell you if I find out anything serious is going on."

"Good!" Ferio said, smiling, but there was a hint of worry in his eye. Clef sighed again and glanced over to where Umi sat. Umi had joined back in the conversationg and was grinning and laughing, like her normal self. There was no trace of the Umi that he had seen a minute before. _I really hope that it's nothing, Ferio. I really do..._

_>_

**"Damn that Master Mage! He managed to break my hold on her last night, so much that she woke up. And just this morning, just the -thought- of him broke my hold. Damn him." -pause- "Hmm...I wonder..."**

**>**

* * *

Hello again!

If you haven't figured it out yet, the romance is going to be Clemi. I -adore- Clemi.

This story will probably be about six chapters, if I get around to finishing it. I have a habit of never finishing my stories, and I really want to finish this one. So I am asking anyone who reads this story to email me, or IM me, or bug me until I post the next chapter. Uh...please? But then you would only do that if you like my story...which I'm not sure you will...:sighs:

Ah yes, let me tell you about my Review Policy. Unless it is a flame, if you review my story, I will read and review any of your stories!

By the way, I have a couple of one-shot Clemi plotbunnies floating around in my head, and I was wondering if anyone would like me to post those. They are veryfluffy, which just proves my obbsession with fluff. >. 

Please Review!

Love to all!

: Reaven :


	2. Your Love

Well, I'm not exactly satisfied with this chapter... but Umi-chan3 is leaving town tommorow... and I wanted to get the next chapter up before she leaves! Go read her stories, she's getting sad because of the lack of reviews... .

Anyway, about the characters. Umi is Out of Character for most of the story. I know that. There -is- a reason for it. I'm doing it on purpose, kay?

For Clef... well, I have no excuse. He's out of character, too. Uh... Umi just does that to him sweatdrops Forgive me. Please.

Just one more thing! Check out my website, its on my profile page. It's a MKR forum... you can talk about it there! There are not really any MKR websites nowadays... I also have a RolePlaying section... am I the only who thinks that doing a Magic Knight Rayearth RolePlay would be totally fun? Please come, I would love you forever!

On to the story! Review respones at the bottom!

**Chapter Two- **

-- Dreamscape --

"**Well, hello again, little brat!"**_The voice was the first thing Umi heard as she entered the dream. Her eyes darted around. All she could see was thick blackness all around her, covering her._

_Weren't you supposed to wake up when you realized that you were in a dream? She gave a mental shrug. This was not an ordinary dream; from the beginning she had never thought of it as one. _

"_No apparitions of dying friends? No mysterious dying men?" She said wearily. The voice chuckled._

"**Not at the moment, little brat… Perhaps later!"**_Umi was silent. _**"Aw… Are you tired, little brat? Didn't get much sleep last night?"** _It mocked her._

"_SHUT UP!" She shouted, suddenly angry. That just made it laugh all the more. Umi wanted to punch something, kick something, kill something. But the voice remained in the shadows, taunting her, taunting her. "Why don't you show yourself?" She hissed. It giggled._

"**I'd really rather not..."**_It said gleefully.Umi noticed It was acting different today. A bit more... hyper?_

"_And why not?" She shouted, wheeling around in circles, glaring angrily at the deep shadows._

" '**cause I don't wanna..."**_It said, drawing out the last word. Umi could almost hear the nasty smirk in It's voice. Umi wondered when it was that she had started thinking of the voice as an 'It', in capital letters._

"_Coward!" She yelled._

"**Oh, I'm soo insulted..."**_It said, giggling maniacally. Then It yawned. _**"Well, I'm getting bored with this... how about some more fun?"**_Umi was sure that she wasn't going to like It's idea of 'fun'. She curled her hands into fists, her fingernails digging into her flesh. _

_-- _End Dreamscape --

Clef had not been able to sleep that night, afraid that he would feel Umi's terror again. He had no reason to think that it would, it could very likely just be another –ordinary- nightmare. Despite that, he –still- had not been able to fall asleep. He had paced his room and tried to read some old spell books... until now. There it came, once again. The terror. For one time in his life, Clef dearly wished that he had not been correct. He snatched his staff from where it lay, at the ready, against his wall. His staff pulsed briefly with a blue light as Clef activated the transportation spell.

-- Dreamscape --

"_Umi..." A deep voice whispered. She whirled around involuntarily, even though she knew this would be one of It's tricks. The man from last time stood about four meters away from her, surrounded by the same darkness that still surrounded her. She gave a little gasp, and took a step forward. His appearance tugged at her heart. The man stared at his feet; it was obvious that he could not see her. _

"_Umi..." he whispered again. His voice was tinged with agony. _

"_Who...who are you?" She breathed. Suddenly she realized that if she were in real life, she would know this man. It was the strange power of the dream that was keeping her from recognizing him. Dreams just worked that way…_

"**Who is he?"**_The voice seemed to find her question quite amusing. _**"He's the man you love."**_ It said smugly. All the color drained out of her face, and she took a step back._

"_But... I… don't...I don't lo..."_

--End Dreamscape--

Clef grabbed her hands. Damn it, they were bleeding again! Her long fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm so hard that it drew blood.

"I… I… don't... lo..." She whispered; her voice filled with agony and horror. He dropped her hands and shook her shoulders.

"Umi! Wake up!" He said urgently. "Please!" Her eyes opened slowly.

"What?... Clef?…" She said, mostly awake now. He sighed with relief.

"You had a nightmare, -again-." He said quietly. She bit her lip and looked down. At least she didn't burst into tears this time. Her eyes were wide and her breathing was short and choppy. She seemed to be in shock. _She's in shock from something a -nightmare- said. Perhaps I -am- right... _Clef sighed wearily. "I can give you that potion again." He offered.

"Sure." She whispered. _Well, at least she said something this time. It's an improvement, I suppose... _The same cup he had given her last night appeared in his hand. She sighed softly and took it.

"Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" He asked her. She shook her head. _Well, I had to ask... _She placed her lips on the rim of the cup and sipped quietly. She set it down on a small table that was beside her bed, and Clef noticed that her hand trembled. He clenched his teeth. _Maybe I'm -not- overreacting. _She laid back in the bed and turned away. Why did she keep turning away from him?

"Clef?" She asked softly after a minute. His eyes widened in surprise. He hadn't expected her to say something. Judging from how fast the potion had taken over the night before, he had assumed she was already asleep.

"Yes?" He answered, curious about what she was going to say. She gave a low sigh, so soft that he almost didn't hear it.

"Thank you, Clef." He stared in surprise, and then smiled softly.

"You're welcome, Umi."

--Next Morning--

Umi paused a second before opening the door to the breakfast hall. For some reason, she didn't want to see anyone right now. She just wanted to be alone… _to think_… but her friends would worry if she didn't show up. She had already slept too long. _I'm going to have to ask Clef-chan to tone down that potion or something…_ She opened the door, and felt everyone's eyes turn toward her.

"Umi-chan!" Hikaru burst out happily. Umi smiled, almost shyly.

"Sorry everyone! I really don't know what's gotten into me lately!" She said cheerfully as she walked over to the same table that the girls had sat at the day before. She could feel Clef's skeptical eyes on her, and could almost hear his thoughts. '_Sure you don't, Umi.'_ She leaned against the table. "So, what were you guys talking about?" Hikaru bounced in her chair.

"Fuu-chan said she had a surprise for us!" She exclaimed, grinning widely. Umi looked at Fuu, interested. Fuu colored and reached up and ran a hand through her shoulder length blonde hair.

"What is it?" She asked. Fuu smiled shyly, and held up her hand. On her hand was a beautiful ring, with a bright red jewel in the middle, carved in the shape of a heart. Everyone gaped at it.

"Ferio-chan asked me to marry him." Fuu said, looking down to stare at her hand. Umi felt a lump grow in her throat.

"OH MY GOD!" Hikaru, Presea, and Caldina all shrieked at the same time. They all proceeded to squeeze the death out of a furiously blushing Fuu. Umi forced a smile on her face.

"Congratulations, Fuu!" She said, trying to force happiness in her voice, for Fuu's sake. This was supposed to be Fuu's special day… why couldn't she be happy for Fuu? Umi's gaze unconsciously slid over to Lantis, who had a tiny, secretive half-smile on his face and was fingering something in his pocket. Umi almost choked. Great! Just GREAT! Her two best friends were getting engaged, and she… she… she had nothing. She felt heat rise to her face.

**--"He's the man you love…"--**_Crap. Crap, crap, crap! That's what it is… I'm jealous… Why am I jealous? That's not like me at all… _She felt tears sting at her eyes. _Damn it all! Why the heck am I –crying-? I never cry… what the heck is wrong with me?_ She spun around; she had the sudden urge to just bolt out of there. She had to get out… She walked slowly toward the door, fighting with everything that she had to not cry until she was out of the room. Her hand on the door, she glanced back. No one had seen her start to leave; everyone's attention was focused on Fuu and Ferio. Tears blinding her vision, she turned and almost ran out the door, not seeing Clef's worried eyes following her retreat.

-- --

He knocked softly on the door. There was silence for a few seconds.

"Who is it?" Umi's voice sounded defeated and weary. He frowned slightly.

"Clef." He answered. There was a pause.

"Come in." He swung the door open, walked in, and quietly shut the door behind him. Umi was seated in front of her window, her arms folded in front of her and resting on the windowsill. Her face was buried in her arms. He walked slowly forward until he was about in the middle of the room.

"I saw you leave," He began in a gentle voice.

"Really? You were the only one." She said sharply, cutting him off. He blinked. Did that have something to do with why she was so upset?

"Something was bothering you. You looked like you were going to… cry." His last word trailed off as she lifted her head to look at him. She –had- been crying; her face was tear streaked. He stared at her with clear blue eyes, now even more concerned. "What's wrong, Umi? Please tell me." He asked her, a pleading note in his voice. There was that same look in her eyes, that lost, lonely one.

"I'm just being an idiot. There's nothing wrong." She said bitterly, closing her eyes and turning her head back toward the window. He didn't believe her for an instant.

"Umi…" He said softly. Her hands dropped to her side, then curled into fists.

"I didn't mean to…" She began, her voice almost inaudible. Clef said nothing, just listened intently. Maybe she would finally tell him something about what had been bothering her. "But I looked over at Lantis when everyone was congratulating Fuu…" She paused again and swallowed, "And he was fingering something in his pocket and almost –smiling-." She stopped than added, "He was staring at Hikaru."

Suddenly he understood. Lantis was going to propose to Hikaru; both of her friends were getting married. She was jealous. She let out a sharp breath, almost a sob. "See! I'm just being an idiot." She buried her face in her hands.

"No." He said quietly. "No, you're not. Anyone would feel jealous if they were in your place. It's human." He walked nearer and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your best friends all have loves, and you do not. It's completely natural. It is not something you should worry about… It is not something you should cry about." She looked up at him.

"Thank you, Clef." She said, with warmth in her voice.

"You're welcome, Umi." He had a brief déjà vu of the night before. A ghost of smile crossed his face. He turned and walked out of the room, his robes swishing on the floor behind him.

-- Fifteen minutes later --

"Clef-chan?" Hikaru asked in a worried voice, poking her head into his study. Clef looked up from the book he was reading.

"Yes?" He answered. Fuu, Presea and Caldina appeared behind her.

"Have you seen Umi-chan?" He frowned at them. They had just –now- realized that she was missing? He tapped his fingers on the table.

"Yes. Last time I saw her, she was in her room." Hikaru nodded.

"Okay!" She said cheerfully, and turned to go off toward Umi's room, but Presea stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. The Soushi stared at Clef.

"Clef, is there something wrong?" She had noticed his scowl. He absently ran his thumb across the edge of the table.

"Actually, yes. When I was talking to her… she was quite upset." Hikaru's eyes widened.

"Why?" Fuu asked concern laced in her voice. Clef sighed, and wondered how to put it. He didn't want to say anything about Lantis' proposal plan, not with Hikaru there.

"Fuu has Ferio… and you have Lantis." He said slowly to Hikaru, "I believe she was feeling a bit…" He paused, "left out, and a bit jealous. Then she got upset at herself because she was jealous." Understanding lighted in their eyes. Hikaru spun around and began to sprint down the hallway toward Umi's room, the others following close on her heels.

-

"**That's it, Umi. Keep it up! You're falling right into my trap… just perfectly! Soon you shall be completely –mine-!"**

**-**

Responces:

rayearth-luvr : Thanks! -blushes-

Padme5 : Thanks! I have a couple one-shots in rough draft mode, I just have to edit them. I wanted to get this chapter out first before I posted anything else! I love Clemi too, I LIVE on Clemi. And on Clef in general... .

Umi-chan3 : Thanks! I had to go over this fifty times before I got it the way it is now... No exageration... You don't know how happy it made me feel when I saw that one of my favorite authors of all time reviewed my work... -grins- Post the rest of your story soon -glomps- .

Shimmering Rose Petals : Hehe! My IM s/ns are on my profile... -prods you in that direction- .

Lunacy Fringe : -blushes bright red- Thanks so much!

Haruka3: Thanks! Yes, doesn't Clemi just rock?

--

Everyone: Wow, I was completely flattered to see how many reviews I got. My ego has bloated to the size of a large blimp. Does anyone have a pin? Someone needs to pop it...

I just hope I don't scare everyone away with the horridness that is this chapter... -winces-

Please review! -glomps everyone-

Raven

PS: The next chapter is going to be a while in coming... something special happens next chapter, and I'm going to have a hard time keeping the characters IC... so it will take me a while to write it...  
-coughs- In the meanwhile, why don't you guys check out my website? I'll keep you updated on there about how far I am in writing the chapter... -grins-


	3. Love

-staggers in- I… I did it! It's done! Aren't you proud of me? Are you absolutely totally shocked that I actually managed to come out with another chapter?

–rubs aching fingers- It was so hard to write… and it really didn't come out that well… but I needed to get past this before I can continue on… hopefully now the chapters won't be as quite hard to write….

Review Responces:

Umi-chan3: I know, aren't they cute? -pets Clef-

Shimmering Rose Petals: Um... probably about 18-19... -sweatdrops- A little young to be getting married... but... it's a fanfic, ok? It doesn't have to be realistic... -sweatdrops again and hides under table-

Padme5: Thanks. I believe it will turn out different... I've got some plans -chuckles evily-

Lunacy Fringe: Thanks!

Seishin-Kakumei: Thanks! I'm honored! I know, Clemi rocks, doesn't it?

Silvanus16: -eyes get big- Really? I'm extremely flattered... Thanks!

jadehaku: Thanks! I keep thinking that the characters are OOC, but everyone keeps telling me they're not...

Wow, seven reviews... -eyes bug out- Wow... I hope everyone has stayed with me, and that I'll get some reviews for this chapter... -bows- And now...

**Chapter Three**

--Umi's Dreamscape--

_There was someone there, in the dream, this time. Umi's eyes widened and she blinked. _

_It was a woman. _

_That was… odd. She had never really thought of the voice as being a woman, yet somewhere inside she understood that this woman was here to represent that voice. The woman had long, silken, jet-black hair, and an extremely thin, almost emaciated body. _

"_What do you want?" Umi demanded; her arms crossed across her chest, attempting to hide the slight trembling of her hands. The women casually glanced up, her gaze sharpening on Umi's face. Umi swallowed, her throat suddenly dry. The woman's eyes were a pale, pale gold, expressionless and cold._

"**To continue our little discussion… that was so… rudely interrupted." **_A nasty smirk flashed across the woman's face, and the Magic Knight said nothing, just pressed her lips slightly together. The dark haired woman advanced toward her, her feet making a hard thudding noise, though it appeared that she walked on only the shadows. Umi slowly retreated despite herself. _

_There were very few people that could inspire this kind of fear in the short-tempered Water Knight. In fact, Umi could think of no one else… besides _her.**"I do believe that we were discussing… the man that you… love." **_The woman continued._

"_I don't… love anyone. Not in the way that you mean." She whispered, trying to convince herself as much as the other woman. And they both knew it. The woman smirked again, yellow eyes glinting._

"**Uh-huh."**_Now the voice sounded slightly amused. _**"Do you really believe that? I wouldn't, if I were you… It's actually pretty obvious." **_Umi said nothing. The voice giggled._

"**Who is the one you go to, when needing comfort? Who is the one that you go to, when Hikaru would go to Lantis, or Fuu would go to Ferio?" **_Umi gave a strangled gasp. _No… no… _The woman leaned forward, her face inches from Umi's. _**"Clef!" **

-End Dreamscape-

Umi jerked up in her bed, desperately gasping for air. For once, she had brought herself back from the dream, not… Clef… She buried her head in her hands, silent tears leaking out of the corners of her eyes. She knew… she knew what the voice had said was true… she loved him.

She loved Clef.

Damn.

How would she ever be able to look him in the eye again, knowing that she loved him? It would ruin the friendship that they had… he would never know how much she treasured that friendship.

He… understood… her, in a way that Hikaru or Fuu would never be able to. He understood how she felt… they were much alike. He understood her heart. Her hands tightened on her face, and her mouth firmed.

"I will never tell him…" She whispered to the air, "I will not ruin our friendship. I will _never_ let him find out."

--Clef—

Up, near the very top of the Castle of Cephiro, was a room that looked out over all of Cephiro. In this room, a certain lavender haired Mage slept. It was not a peaceful slumber, for like Umi… his dreams were not pleasant.

--Clef's Dreamscape--

"_Clef!" She screamed. Her whole body writhed in agony. "Clef…" She whimpered again. "You promised… you swore… you swore to the Princess Emeraude… that you would protect us… that you would protect _me_…" She gasped in pain, "Clef!" _

"_Umi!" He tried to cry out, but his voice wouldn't work. His mouth wouldn't move. "No! Umi!" He could move, he couldn't go to her; he couldn't save her…he could do nothing… "Umi!" He screamed._

_The scene shifted._

"_Master?" A six-year-old Clef asked anxiously, staring up at him with his wide blue eyes._

"_Hmm?" Aoka responded vaguely. Clef tugged on his Master's robes. _

"_Master!" He repeated louder. Aoka blinked and finally fully recognized that his Apprentice was speaking to him._

"_Yes, Clef?" He said, squatting down until the two were eye-to-eye. The lavender haired boy bit his bottom and looked away. _

"_How… how…" He began uncertainly. He licked his lips nervously, and then continued, "Master… how did you know that Mika was in trouble?" A brief shadow crossed his Master's eyes, then disappeared, and Aoka smiled down at him. _

"_It's because I love her, Clef. Sometimes, when someone of powerful magic loves someone with all of their heart and soul…" Aoka touched two fingers to his heart, "They can feel the other's emotions. And I sensed Mika's fear, and that is how I knew that she was in trouble."_

_The scene faded._

"_No! Umi!" Clef screamed again._

"_It's because I love her, Clef…" Aoka's voice beat in his mind._

"_It's because I love her…" Clef whispered._

--End Dreamscape--

Clef jerked up in bed, desperately gasping for air.

"_It's because I love her…" _

The Mage buried his head in his hands, an extremely strange look on his face. It was true. He loved her. _I never expected to fall in love… I'm supposed to be the cold one… I never _wanted _to fall in love… _He let out a sharp breath that was an odd combination between a sigh and a moan.

_Umi…_ He should have known… should have realized. There were so many hints. He felt like banging his head against the wall.

He always felt so sad… almost lost… whenever the Knights returned to their own world. Then there was the strange excitement that always filled him whenever he knew the Knights were coming back. And there was the way he always looked forward to spending any kind of time with her…

"Umi…" He whispered.

-- Sage --

_Tap tap. _

Her fingers drummed against the table.

"So, you're finally back, eh?" A giggle escaped her. "I knew you'd come back… no matter what Clef thought…" She stood up unsteadily, grasping the edge of the table to keep herself standing. "No hope… no… there never was… never was hope… you never fail… ever ever ever!" She giggled again. " Nope… you never fail… I wonder… wonder who you'll kill this time? Never fail…"

-

"**Hehe! I did it! Weakness… that's what I was searching for… one moment of weakness… one tiny break in your shield… and I did it. I've planted myself in your mind… you're mine now! Mine!"**

**-**

So, how did you like it? It's short, I know, and not really that good… but the next chapter will be better. I promise.

Review! (it will make me post faster!)

ReavenDawn

PS: Please please please someone write some Clemi. I need it desperately. I really do. –waggles finger- I'm not going to update until I get some Clemi!


End file.
